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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsHave you read the Terms of Service for DU?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice4 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited | |
yes | |
2 (50%) |
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no | |
2 (50%) |
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robb/dingbat | |
0 (0%) |
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PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)The tragic death of Internet activist Aaron Swartz, who killed himself last Friday amidst prosecution
for downloading 4.8 million academic articles from JSTOR, has brought one of the primary U.S. computer crime laws under intense public scrutiny. Known as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or CFAA, the law was the basis for 11 of the 13 felony charges against Swartz, who faced more than three decades in prison and a potential $1 million fine for his actions. Some of these CFAA-related charges partially stem from the fact that Swartz violated JSTORs Terms of Service you know, the type of absurdly long document we all agree to but never read.
If Swartz could be charged with nearly a dozen felonies for violating a ToS, does that mean anyone who violates such terms could be charged with federal crimes?
What is the CFAA?
Enacted in 1986 as an amendment to the Counterfeit Access Device and Abuse Act, the CFAA makes it illegal to do a whole bunch of stuff related to computers and computer networks, from stealing government documents and committing fraud to sending out spam emails. Its an extremely broad law, which means a lot of activities can get pushed under its umbrella by federal prosecutors. And its been amended so many times that its completely unruly.
Why the CFAA is problematic
Much of this breadth is due to the fact that the CFAA prohibits anyone from accessing a computer without authorization or by exceeding authorized access for certain purposes, which includes attempts to obtain information from a protected computer if doing so includes interstate or foreign
communication.
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/understanding-the-cfaa/#ixzz2afzEfdPk
Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook
I am going to mark you as a Yes, then
dballance
(5,756 posts)Not a MIRTer now. But kind of required reading for MIRT.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)There were some changes made ... derp
cliffordu
(30,994 posts)He threw it up and I read that. Sort of.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Now he bytes!
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)must figure out How
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)doh.
UTUSN
(70,497 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)UTUSN
(70,497 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)I didn't ask if you abide by or comprehend them
UTUSN
(70,497 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)UTUSN
(70,497 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)don't mind if I do
UTUSN
(70,497 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)irisblue
(32,829 posts)but then I'm a bit of a quirky nerd..(thanks for the description Trish).
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)is Trish your niece?
irisblue
(32,829 posts)Trish was the only co worker I liked. She came in, did her job, then left, a perfect co worker. When she told me i was "quirky", I was so pleased. Some Rs have such limited (work )descriptions.
Xyzse
(8,217 posts)Skimmed through it again, but can't for the life of me remember a thing.
I wonder why I even bothered.
winter is coming
(11,785 posts)Xyzse
(8,217 posts)winter is coming
(11,785 posts)Xyzse
(8,217 posts)krispos42
(49,445 posts)I was on a jury a few days ago and I re-checked them before making a decision.
winter is coming
(11,785 posts)bigwillq
(72,790 posts)Don't recall much of what I read, though.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)The SOP says no drama!
olddots
(10,237 posts)page 58 paragraph 3
rrneck
(17,671 posts)Wait Wut
(8,492 posts)...it's a little like the Constitution and the Bible. People will read it standing on their heads to get what they want from it.